



Since then, the Percy Jackson books have inspired further series, short stories, and graphic novels as well. Haley suggested that he should turn that story into a book, and Riordan wrote The Lightning Thief over the following year. He told Haley the story of Percy Jackson and his travels across the United States in search of Zeus's lightning bolt. Because Haley had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, Riordan decided that his hero should face the same challenges. The story began as a series of bedtime stories for his son Haley, then in second grade, about the adventures of ancient Greek gods. Riordan had written a series of mystery novels for adults before he began work on The Lightning Thief, the first Percy Jackson book. His novels have been translated into 42 languages and have sold more than 30 million copies in the United States alone. Internationally acclaimed author Rick Riordan is best known for his Percy Jackson series about a 12-year-old boy who discovers he's the son of the Greek god Poseidon. The adventure continues in The Heroes of Olympus with a younger set of demigods, and there are short stories, character diaries, a coloring book, and a collection of tell-all "files" on the important gods.īut that's not where it ends! Twentieth Century Fox has adapted the books into feature films, and the novels have been retold in page-turning graphic novels that put all the action of the originals on the full-color page! Haley is grown now, but Riordan keeps honoring his second grade request to write more and more stories. The original series follows Percy and his friends from Camp Half-Blood as they meet gods, battle monsters, and take on the Titans from Greek mythology. Twelve-year-old Percy discovers that the Greek god Poseidon is his father, and suddenly he's swept along on one adventure after another, mixing it up with the immortals and facing danger at every turn. When there were no more stories to tell, he asked his dad to come up with new ones-and the story of Percy Jackson was born. Riordan had taught Greek mythology in middle school for many years, so he knew lots of stories. Rick Riordan's son Haley had been studying mythology in school, so he asked his dad to tell him all the stories he knew about Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes. The book that started it all began as a bedtime tale about the Greek gods.
